Strategy and Objectives

The president wants to make it clear that
The U.S. commitment in Afghanistan is not open-ended.
How many additional troops would be sent, he asks,
And what is the timeline for their presence in the war zone?

The war is now in its ninth year and is
Claiming U.S. lives at a record pace.
Military leaders say the Taliban
Has the upper hand in many parts of the country.

(AP dispatch, November 12, 2009)

The old management professor asks,
What are our interests in this theater?
What are we attempting to accomplish?
How will we know that we have succeeded?

Then, and only then, can the following decisions be made:
A plan for getting the job done.
The resources necessary for executing the plan.
Measurements of success at stated intervals.

If we don't have these in place, we are throwing
Young lives into futile gestures.
The president is correct in raising concrete demands.
He answers to the people whose sons and daughters are at risk.

From a Minor Prophet

In the third century of that great nation, a false messiah captivated the people.
He promised to make their bodies whole and their spirits soar.
He tried to achieve peace with foreign countries by apologizing for past wrongs.
He wasted the lives of young warriors in futile pursuit of fleeing enemies.

The word of The Lord came to the prophet in a dream.
Proclaim the errors of the king to all who would listen,
For he is wasting the substance of his subjects.
Soon both the treasury and the granaries will be no more.

The king would not listen.
He was not an evil man, but a proud man,
Who believed that The Lord had anointed him to accomplish the impossible.
By wishing, and by speaking, he could make miracles happen.

The prophet warned him that he was worshiping hubris, a false god.
The warnings of the prophet were echoed by wise persons.
You will be judged by history as a wastrel, full of empty ambition.
So the king repented, and put on sackcloth and ashes.

He withdrew his brave young people from harm's way.
He stopped the plan to cure all illness with money alone.
He banished the courtiers who would control all aspects of his subjects' lives.
He restored the soundness of the treasury by eliminating needless spending.
He sought common ground for the improvement of the nation and the world.
And The Lord rewarded him for wise rule by giving him a peaceful reign.

Secession Movements

You may think that groups which recommend secession from the U.S.A. are various forms of nuthatches;
And you would be correct in most cases, particularly those which wish to refight the Civil War.
But some supporters of secession movements are quite serious in their desire for less central control of their lives;
And see separation from their parent country, U.S.A. or Canada, as the only rational means to achieve freedom.

The Second Vermont Republic has a firm intellectual footing that has given rise to expanded media coverage.
The Texas Nationalist Movement has history on its side as well as a well-organized website and membership drive.
The Alaska Independence Party wants to be able to vote on its status, with a separate and independent nation one of four choices.
Hawai'i Constitutional Conventions are held periodically to seek national sovereignty for native Hawaiians.

The League of the South appears to be a revised confederacy, with chapters in every state of the former nation.
Their program is gentle and professedly free of racism, but determinedly Christian and Anglo-Saxon in tone.
California has two obsolete websites devoted to independence; surprising considering the turmoil in governance of the state.
A piece just recently appeared in The Guardian (U.K.) describing California as the first failed U.S. state.

The titles Novacadia and Cascadia are used by nascent efforts to join U.S. states and Canadian provinces on each coast
In the formation of independent countries, sharing resources and government structures.
Neither is more than an idea at present; other Canadian movements including Parti Quebecois, seem to be moribund.
Patriots for Liberty in Massachusets and Republic of New Hampshire are go it alone websites, with no supporting organization.

So you have to say that balkanization is not yet considered a viable option by the citizens of the U.S. or Canada.
And would doubtless gain little traction unless grass roots protests like the tea parties grow up to become non-violent revolutions.
Causing nervous politicians to have to decide whether to try to head off or lead the body politic in the way it wants to go.
Paul Starobin's article, Imaging Breaking Up, in the Wall Street Journal, of June 13, 2009, is the genesis of such consideration.

Education

The Republic of New England shall have no public schools,
Supported by taxes and free to all.
Instead, religious and civic organizations may establish schools
To which parents pay tuition, perhaps on a sliding scale.

This system worked well for parochial schools,
And could be replicated on a larger scale.
Charter schools exemplify achievment at the elementary level.
Education is a privilege, not a right.

Advanced education will be apprentice programs for careers,
In institutions sponsored by the industries who need their graduates.
Literature and arts will depend upon the public and eleemosynary organizations
To support those who pursue aesthetic disciplines.

There is no place in the Republic of New England
For those who do not seek to better themselves
In the pursuit of knowledge and its application to the common good.
No occupation is less worthy than any other.

Currency and Debt

The Republic of New England will carry no debt.
All our expenditures will be pay as you go.
We will never borrow from our citizens
Through the medium of bonds or notes.

When we separate from the U.S.A. we will abandon their debt.
New England has received far less than other regions in return on taxes
So we don't have any financial obligation to their federal government.
Besides, we have nothing in our treasury to give them.

We talked about currency a great deal and came up with an inspiration.
The Republic certainly does not wish to use the U.S. dollar.
Printing currency of our own presents special problems
Of convertibility and fluctuation in value.

So we decided to join the European Economic Union.
They will be glad to have such a frugal member.
Then the Euro can become our currency
And help us to enjoy our lovely vacations on the continent.

Italy has Dante on their euro.
We could have The Old Man on the Mountain on ours,
As a symbol of New England thrift,
And a reminder that we too could crumble into dust.

Trade and Foreign Relations

The Republic of New England is too old for foreign affairs.
We only have foreign relations
Which should be friendly, long-lasting, and free of confrontation.
We don't want any other nation to be mad at us.

We are not concerned about the possibility of invasion and conquest.
Our only natural resources are tall trees for ship masts,
And there isn't much demand for them anymore.
We do have a vast supply of brainpower, though.

Beginning with the colleges on the Charles River,
Our higher education spawns technological innovation
To rival Silicon Valley and Israel.
Manufacturing of anything but high tech gear left us a long time ago.

Tourism is good, from the mountains to the sea, although
New England does have some of the worst drivers
And the most dilapidated road systems you could imagine.
Plus road signs deliberately designed to confuse visitors.

Our only real worry is the infiltration of ideologies
Which demand control over our lives and persons.
The traditional New England character is flinty individualism.
Now somewhat attenuated by loopy New Age spiritualism.

But the weather does build character, particularly
If you never had any character and did not know you needed it.
We have a glorious spring; last year it was on a Tuesday.
Fall is our season; that's when we get things done.

Governance

The Republic of New England will borrow the best of the parliamentary system
From those countries who have enjoyed it the longest.
England, the mother of parliaments, is the foremost example to consider.
The majority party leader becomes the head of government.

The sovereign, the head of state, provides stability to the system
In the change of governments, calling upon the prime minister to form a cabinet.
In Canada and many other countries, provinces are largely self-sufficient,
Thus reducing the temptation for the central government to micromanage.

Israel is a victim of proportional representation
That gives splinter parties a disproportionate role.
A plus in Israel governance is the fluid movement
Of experienced politicians to cabinet posts, regardless of party.

Switzerland functions without a strong central executive.
In France and Russia, the president and the premier jockey for power.
The United States of America gives the president unlimited authority in war,
But keeps a tight grip on the purse strings in Congress.

Our republic shall have a citizen legislature like New Hampshire.
A figurehead president will be the ceremonial head of state,
Who, like England's sovereign, calls upon an elected leader
From the majority party to form a cabinet.